Ministry of Industry Revamps R&D System... Allocates 70% of New Budget to 40 Projects

Focused Investment in 40 Projects Within 11 Core Areas

The government will fully reform the research and development (R&D) system by concentrating 70% of the annual new R&D budget on 40 projects for the industrial transformation and granting the private sector substantial authority.

On the 10th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a 'CTO Roundtable' chaired by First Vice Minister Jang Young-jin at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attended by chief technology officers (CTOs) from nine companies including LX Semicon, Samsung Display, Hyundai Motor Company, and POSCO, as well as heads of four specialized institutions including the Strategic Planning Group, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology, and Korea Energy Technology Evaluation Institute. They finalized the promotion plan for the Industrial Transformation Super-gap Project (hereinafter referred to as the Super-gap Project). The Super-gap Project is a national agenda aimed at driving Korea’s industrial super-gap growth and restructuring the R&D system into a goal-oriented and performance-driven model.

The Super-gap Project will be promoted in three main directions. First, the public and private sectors will jointly focus investment on 40 projects within 34 missions across 11 core investment areas such as semiconductors, displays, and secondary batteries.

For example, in the semiconductor sector, three missions and four projects were selected. To achieve the first mission, "Leap to a Leading Nation in Advanced System Semiconductors," two projects will be pursued: ▲development of compound power semiconductors for mobility, energy, and home appliances, and ▲development of semiconductor technology for autonomous vehicles (Level 4 and above). For the second mission, "Nurturing Global Top 10 Post-Processing Companies," a project to develop core advanced packaging technologies for semiconductors was finalized. For the third mission, "Strengthening Semiconductor Supply Chain Resilience to Maintain Super-gap Competitiveness," a mini-fab for early commercialization and demonstration of 12-inch advanced semiconductor wafer materials, parts, and equipment will be established.

For the selected 40 projects, 70% of the annual new R&D budget will be invested. Through preliminary feasibility studies, discovery of new projects, and utilization of new tasks in ongoing projects, investments of 6.2 trillion KRW from 2023 to 2027 and 13.5 trillion KRW by 2030 are planned.

Second, top market and industry experts will be granted practical operational authority over the projects. In addition to program directors, a project management group including market and industry experts will lead the entire process from setting project goals, planning technology development, commercialization, workforce training, and infrastructure projects to performance evaluation. By managing from planning to outcome creation, the aim is to enhance results. The project management group will be formed first to establish detailed implementation plans for each of the 40 projects by the end of the year, including goals, project composition, and milestones for each project.

Third, instead of dividing projects into small tasks, R&D will be supported through large mission-oriented projects to ensure that institutions with outstanding innovation capabilities take responsibility for achieving project goals. Institutions with strong innovation capabilities will lead by forming optimal consortia and linking multiple component technologies for development and verification, thereby producing visible outcomes.

Meanwhile, the nine companies and four specialized institutions participating in the event also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the execution of the Super-gap Project. Companies will actively participate in the project management group, and the Strategic Planning Group will support the operation of the Technology Innovation Alliance. The Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology and the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation Institute will support the activities of project managers, while the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology will provide linked support for workforce training and infrastructure projects.

Jang Young-jin, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, “Closed project operations by a few experts and fragmented support for small-scale projects cannot produce R&D outcomes, nor can they surpass competing countries in technological competition,” adding, "Through the Super-gap Project, Korea’s top experts will set the direction, and institutions with the strongest innovation capabilities will form a dream team to create a research and development system capable of delivering impactful results.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.